Anthony Barry was an Irish

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 businessman and Fine Gael

Fine Gael

Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...

 politician from Cork

Cork (city)

Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...

.

Early life and career

He was born one of 11 children, his family had a small grocery business at Bridge Street in Cork. The firm specialised in teas and wines and later moved to Princes Street. It was awarded the Empire Cup for Tea Blending at the Grocers Exhibition London, 1934. He spent his working life at the firm which was later developed under the tutelage of his son Peter into a major company called Barry's Tea

Barry's Tea

Barry's Tea is an Irish tea company founded in 1901 in Cork City. Until the 1960s, tea was sold from a shop in Prince's Street, but thereafter as a result of its increasing popularity, the company expanded its wholesaling and distribution operations. By the 1990s, the company had become one of...

.

Political career

Barry acted as election agent for W. T. Cosgrave, the former President of the Executive Council

President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State

The President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State was the head of government or prime minister of the Irish Free State which existed from 1922 to 1937...

 who was a Teachta Dála

Teachta Dála

A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...

 TD for Cork Borough

Cork Borough (Dáil Éireann constituency)

Cork Borough was a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas from 1921 to 1969...

 from 1932 to 1944. Barry was himself elected to Dáil Éireann

Dáil Éireann

Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...

 as TD for Cork Borough in the 1954 general election

Irish general election, 1954

The Irish general election of 1954 was held on 18 May 1954. The newly elected members of the 15th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 2 June when the new Taoiseach and government were appointed....

, but lost his seat in 1957

Irish general election, 1957

The Irish general election of 1957 was held on 5 March 1957, just over three weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 4 February. The newly elected members of the 16th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 20 March when the new Taoiseach and government were appointed.The general election took place...

 and was then elected to the 9th Seanad on the Cultural and Educational Panel. He was re-elected to the Dáil in the 1961 election

Irish general election, 1961

The Irish general election of 1961 was held on 4 October 1961, just over three weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 8 September. The newly elected members of the 17th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 11 October when the new Taoiseach and government were appointed.The general election took...

, and served until a further defeat in the 1965 general election

Irish general election, 1965

The Irish general election of 1965 was held on 7 April 1965. The newly elected members of the 18th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 21 April when the new Taoiseach and government were appointed....

. He was also Lord Mayor of Cork

Lord Mayor of Cork

The Lord Mayor of Cork is the honorific title of the Chairman of Cork City Council which is the local government body for the city of Cork in Ireland. The incumbent is Terry Shannon of Fianna Fáil. The office holder is elected annually by the members of the Council.-History of office:In 1199 there...

 from 1961 to 1962.

His son Peter Barry, his daughter Theresa (Terry) Kelly, neé Barry, and granddaughter Deirdre Clune

Deirdre Clune

Deirdre Clune is an Irish Fine Gael politician. She was elected to Seanad Éireann in April 2011. She is a former Teachta Dála for the Cork South Central constituency.-Early life:...

 were also politicians.

Photography

He had an interest in photography from an early age and in his 50s his skill developed and apart from taking photographs he developed them at his home in York Terrace. His black and white photographs have a timeless quality and build on a tradition of others such as Robert Day in the 19th century and Robert French who took photographs of Cork for Lawrences in the early 1900s.

Sources

• No Lovelier City, a Portrait of Cork by Anthony Barry, Mercier Press 2004 ISBN 1-85635-458-X,
• Oireachtas Members Database.
• RTÉ Radio interview with Deirdre Clune
  Deirdre Clune
  Deirdre Clune is an Irish Fine Gael politician. She was elected to Seanad Éireann in April 2011. She is a former Teachta Dála for the Cork South Central constituency.-Early life:...
  
   21 June 2006